Twenty-five years together

Sara and I celebrated our Silver Wedding Anniversary on Tuesday. That may not seem like much to the Golden Anniversary crowd but we are sort of proud of our 25-year mark.
We went out to eat and there was a gift. Marriage and age have changed us, but she is still the most special human being in my life.
The most beautiful woman I ever saw in this world turned the corner at the front of First Baptist Church in West Point at 1 p.m. on Saturday, June 18, 1988. She wore a white dress and I will never forget the look in those big brown eyes.
We said our vows to God, each other and everyone else in that sanctuary.
And 25 years later I am proud to say those are promises I am glad I have kept.

The past

When I first told people I was getting married, my friends – many who had just gotten married – warned me about how much my life was about to change.
Their words were true.
There were new rules and regulations and my life no longer revolved around me.
But when I told people who had been married 20, 30, or 40 years, they smiled and told me to stick with it.
I have found those words to be true, too.
Four boys, three houses, three states and several career moves have come and gone. And Sara has been with me through it all.
When I could count on no one else in this world – and that has happened a number of times in my life – I could always count on Sara.
Please don’t think it has been one big bed of roses. We’ve had our problems. It has not been easy. I am so glad we are still together.
Sara and I have changed a lot since we got married. But our commitment to marriage and each other has not.

The present

More than 50 percent of today’s marriages will end in divorce.
It’s something I’ve thought about. (Can you imagine being married to me?) It is something Sara has thought about.
I love the quote from William H. Masters of Masters and Johnson fame. “This man and woman thing; it will never work.”
I think every husband and wife has agreed with that at some point in time.
Money, children, career, extended family, health and just the baggage that collects when you live with someone day after day, year after year can all spell doom for your marriage and mine.
And in this day and age, the boundaries of marriage have changed, too. Men marry men and women marry women.
From what I was taught in biology, this has never made sense to me. Like I said earlier, my marriage vows were also made to God. He created man and woman and His concept of how marriage is supposed to work has been my only hope and guide for 25 years.

The future

So where do we go from here?
There will be bills, boys and battles for us tomorrow and for years to come.
Will we make it another 25 years? I’m 53 today. On our 50th anniversary, I will be 78.
There are no guarantees our health will hold. There are no guarantees one of us – or both of us — won’t mess up and ruin it all. I guess there are no guarantees in life of marriage.
But there is Sara and there is Floyd and 25 years and one day later, things are good.
What would I do without Sara? It’s pretty obvious I would do without.
And with that in mind, life with Sara at age 78 looks good to me.

Floyd Ingram is Managing Editor/News for the Chickasaw Journal. He can be reached at 456-3771 or via email at floyd.ingram@journalinc.com